Shadow of A Doubt
by Sincerely C
Summary: Sakura loves and has loved Sasuke, yet the feeling doesn't seem mutual. It seems only a male can be the true judge of it all.


She relished the sweet time they had together between missions. They almost always went as a team, but it was all professional there, with no time for their personal lives. She ran a hand through his dark hair, loving the way it felt, smelled, and looked. Sasuke was truly a feast for the senses. Sakura had been pinning for his attention for years on end and he had finally noticed her. They had become teammates and friends before Sasuke realized his love for her, just like she had always hoped. Ino had hated her, half of the females in the village did, but she didn't care because Sasuke was hers and hers alone.

"Hey Sakura!" Sakura jumped at the call of her name, a scowl crossing her face as she recognized the voice.

"What do you want you idiot? Can't you see I'm busy?" Naruto backed away with his hands flying to his face, attempting to protect it from the rage of the pink haired girl.

"I'm sorry Sakura I just wanted to-" His sentence was cut short by the kunai that flew past his head. Sasuke's death glare was suddenly noticed by the blonde and was returned.

"Why are you staring at me like that Sasuke? I know I'm hot and all, but you have a girlfriend and I'm straight." Sasuke lifted his head out of the pink haired girl's lap and grabbed the back of her head, forcing her forward as their lips crashed together. Sakura hated this. Every time someone questioned the sexuality of her boyfriend, he would force a kiss between the two of them in front of said accuser, but these were one of the few times that he would kiss her without her having to practically beg him to do so. She herself began to question Sasuke's sexuality due to this. He never showed affection, she knew this, but this was a little much, even for him.

"Gross! We get it Sasuke; you have a girlfriend, now take your tongue out of her mouth!" Sasuke pulled away from Sakura with a victorious smirk, wiping his mouth off with his sleeve.

"That was just the beginning Naruto, so if you don't leave within the next two minutes…" Naruto tore away from the two of them as this was said, not wishing to see any further progression. Satisfied with the removal of the annoyance, Sasuke lowered his head back into the lap of the still shocked l. He closed his eyes and rested there, allowing her to stroke his silky hair when she got over the initial surprise of the attack on her mouth by the beautiful boy below her.

* * *

Sakura walked through the village, quickly approaching her destination as the sun disappeared behind the faces of past Hokages. The structure soon came into view, and she discovered Asuma in the doorway as she grew closer.

"Hey kid," he said nonchalantly as he breathed out a puff of smoke. Sakura nodded towards him, hoping to enter and talk to the ninja that could help her with her problem. "What are you doing here?" he asked, obviously not wanting to let her pass until she gave him some answers.

"I need to talk to Shikamaru about something," was her response, praying it was enough, not wanting to break down crying in front of this practical stranger.

"About what exactly? I could have sworn you were with that Uchiha kid." She huffed; there was obviously no other choice than to tell Asuma what was going on.

"I need to talk to Shikamaru about my boyfriend Sasuke. I'm just having some problems with him and I think Shikamaru can help me." She looked at him for a long while and noticed his stare urging her to continue. When she refused to keep going, Asuma decided to give her a little push.

"Shikamaru's an honorable guy; he isn't going to help you cheat on the Uchiha kid, even if little what's-his-name _is_ a little snot."

"I think Sasuke's gay!" It just seemed to slip out of her mouth without her thinking. She quickly placed her hands to her mouth, wondering if that had really come from her. Sakura glanced at the dumbstruck jonin, painfully awaiting his response.

"So… Why is it that you want to see Shikamaru about this thing?" The older man questioned as he stomped out his cigarette, lighting up another one with so much experience it was almost artful.

"Well Shikamaru's gay and I thought that maybe he could, y'know, test Sasuke."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shikamaru is many things, many _strange_ things, but the kid isn't gay," Asuma replied defiantly.

"Yes he is. You've honestly never noticed?"

"If that kid turns out to actually be gay, I will stop smoking." This was a sure sign of the rugged man's confidence in the sexuality of his student. Asuma wouldn't dare bet his favorite habit on anything that he wasn't one hundred percent positive about.

"We'll see," Sakura replied victoriously as the man moved aside, allowing the pink haired girl to enter the abode of Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru."

"Hey Sakura, what do you need?" the young boy asked as lay on his bed, facing the wall.

"I have a bit of a problem that I need your help with."

* * *

Shikamaru knew the plan. This would be easy enough to do. He just had to find the exact moment to do it.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked with a quizzical glare. Shikamaru had been staring into space throughout the entire dinner. Sasuke was finished and was getting curious as to why Shikamaru would bring him to this worn out ramen hut.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking is all. Uh, let's go train now that you're finished." Shikamaru was nervous, a very strange occurrence for the calm ninja. He'd been in near-death situations that hadn't had him this shook up. Sasuke looked at him perplexedly for a bit before standing up and waiting to be led to the place they would battle. The shinobi had wanted to get straight to the fight, but Shikamaru insisted on treating him to dinner first.

"So when do we start?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly, hiding the anticipation at destroying his competition in the battle. The boy loved to deliver a good beating.

"Let's go," Shikamaru replied, anticipating the other's move.

Sasuke watched silently as Shikamaru did the same, both meticulously searching for a weakness. Sasuke struck first, landing a hit in a tree to the right of Shikamaru with a half-hearted Chidori.

"That the best you got?" Shikamaru taunted, wishing for nothing more than to rile the other boy up. Multiple fast blows had Shikamaru rethinking the situation. When the onslaught subsided, Shikamaru dashed for the surrounding forest that would offer him enough cover to execute his plan.

Sasuke did not like dealing with cowards and Shikamaru seemed to be playing the part. Not knowing how to find his opponent in the thick foliage, he ran after the other nin.

Shikamaru allowed Sasuke to come close before he acted. A paper bomb that Shikamaru had laid a couple feet behind Sasuke had the boy distracted long enough for the correct hand signs to be formed. The plan would definitely work.

The darkness stretched across the small space between the two, creeping towards the unsuspecting shinobi, and looming ever closer to the boy's form. Sasuke felt a sudden tightness in his muscles accompanied by the inability to move. The teen began to step forward against his will, his eyes locking in on Shikamaru walking at the same pace and with the same slouching posture. The young genius quickly put two and two together, feeling impending defeat stop him from even attempting to struggle. As his face reached that of Shikamaru, Sasuke expected some sort of gloating, but not the meeting of lips that was to follow.

Shikamaru held Sasuke close to him, cupping his cheeks as their lips crashed together. This felt so wrong, but it felt so good at the same time. Forcing the Uchiha to do this couldn't be right even though it felt like it should have been. Shikamaru's shame however, was soon forgotten as both his and Sasuke's lips parted, allowing their tongues to intermingle. Shikamaru snaked his arm around the other's waste, not noticing that his prisoner didn't follow. He pulled Sasuke closer, allowing his hands to wonder all over the boy's firm, toned chest. He only truly noticed that something strange was going on when he felt a hand running through his rough hair. Suddenly it became clear to him; when had the jutsu broken? There were two possible outcomes, one resulting in Shikamaru's untimely death and the other ending in something far more pleasurable. It was obvious that his untimely doom was far more likely to happen, yet the latter seemed to be taking place. Sasuke was not only participating in the kiss, but dominating his training partner. Maybe battle wasn't the only place he liked to be in charge. Shikamaru had no more time for thinking as he felt himself fall to the ground with Sasuke following suit, never breaking the kiss.

* * *

Sakura watched from the bushes, tears running down her cheeks as she watched the one she loved kiss another man, proving her fears right. The kunoichi knew now that she could never be with the one she had fallen madly in love with. But she did, in fact, love him and she wanted him to be happy. Sakura had just hoped that his happiness could be achieved by loving her.

Sakura trudged back to the village, passing Asuma, sporting a white patch on his arm and screaming at Ino and Choji until they were both nearly reduced to tears. She was almost at her door when her blond teammate walked up to her.

"Hey Sakura! Are you okay? You look like you've been crying. C'mon, let's go get some ramen and you can tell me all about it. Was it that jerk Sasuke? I'll kill him!" Sakura walked up to the boy and buried her face into the crook of his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. When the crying subsided, Naruto took Sakura's face into his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She smiled widely as she stared into the boy's eyes. Perhaps she still had a chance at love with someone she held near and dear. Sakura looked deep into Naruto's eyes. Their lips inched closer and closer, until…


End file.
